Standoffs with Iran test Trump's resolve to use military force via nytimes
WASHINGTON — By the time President Donald Trump met with congressional leaders on the afternoon of June 20, he had already decided to retaliate against Iran for shooting down a U.S. surveillance drone. But for once, he kept his cards close to the vest, soliciting advice rather than doing all of the talking.“Well,” Trump replied with a hint, “I think you’ll like the decision.”
But he finds himself back where he was in June, wrestling with the consequences of using force and the consequences of avoiding it, except now Iran is accused of an even more brazen provocation, and the stakes seem even higher. Strained by the “maximum pressure” sanctions that Trump has imposed, Iran this summer acted out aggressively, targeting oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and vowing to reconstitute its nuclear program. The overnight downing of the Global Hawk drone in June seemed to climax a campaign of escalation that would draw in Trump.
Bolton and Pompeo were concerned that would not be decisive enough and pushed for strikes on Iranian soil. Bolton argued for what was described as a “comprehensive list” of targets, but only so many could be hit if the operation was to be carried out quickly, so the officials settled on three Iranian missile batteries and radars.
Still, there continued to be pushback from Pentagon civilians and Dunford. They argued that killing as many as 150 Iranians did not equate to the shooting down of a drone and could prompt a counterstrike by Iran that would escalate into a broader confrontation. Bolton argued that it mattered little if Tehran gave the order or gave its commanders so much authority that they could take such action on their own. But it clearly did matter to Trump.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was late because she was meeting with Trudeau, and the group debated waiting for her, but with so much history of animosity between Democrats and Republicans, there was no small talk and the room fell into an awkward silence. Finally, they decided to go ahead with the discussion.
“I think it was good that the president asked us over,” he added. “And he was inclusive. He didn’t just bring us over there to bark at us for an hour and a half. He listened. Which, frankly, surprised me a little bit.” Advocates of the strike angrily assumed the lawyers had pulled an end-run around the process and complained that the estimate was just a formula that did not account for the fact that the attack would be conducted at night when few if any personnel would be on duty.
In the command center of the Abraham Lincoln, Rear Adm. Michael Boyle, the carrier strike group commander, had been waiting for the final order to attack. “All the systems were on, all the lights were green, we were waiting for the order,” Boyle recalled. “And the order didn’t come.”When the president’s top advisers returned to the White House and learned what happened, they were flabbergasted. Pompeo was described as incredulous, Bolton as aggravated.
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